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Mystery of the West 

By 
HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE 

Author of" Christus Victor'' 




Boston : Richard G. Badger 
1906 



Copyright 1906 by Henry Nehemiah Dodge 

All risrhts reserved ^V ^ 



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LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
TwoGoDies Roc«!ve«l 

MAY ,19^6 

Copyright Cm 




OOP 



=^s: 



PRINTED AT 

THE GORHAM PRESS 

BOSTON, U. S. A. 



FOREWORD 



What time I hear the storming sea, 
Blood of my ancestor stirs in me; 
The quiet stream awakes from sleep. 
And I long to beard the tawny deep. 

I meet the rushing wind's embrace, 
I feel the sea-foam on my face, 
I ride at will on the hissing wave. 
And the wrath of bellowing ocean brave. 

I wrestle alone with the terrible gale. 
And in its teeth triumphant sail; 
Or fly before the driving blast. 
And laugh at the gulls, as I hurtle past. 

Thrustararorum was his name. 

The brave old fisher from whom I came! 

From cold Newfoundland fogs he sailed 
In his fishing boat, nor ever quailed 
When fierce Atlantic's waking wrath 
Piled mountain billows in his path. 

The ghostly iceberg-ivraith he cleared. 

Though it crowded him close, like a phantom weird. 

For a valiant sailorman was he. 

And he scorned the dangers of the sea. 

His sturdy arm ruled sure the helm.; 
No wild nor east could his soul overwhelm; 
He knezv the pathways of the sea. 
And loved his life of liberty. 
3 



For sun-kissed Manisses he steered. 

Nor loud Point Judith's anger feared. 

And he built him there an island home 

Where the mackerel swarm and the sword-fish roam. 

Thrustararorum was his name. 

The brave old fisher from whom I came! 

Afar the cliffs o'er the ocean loom. 

Afar the thundering breakers boom; 

The pastures lie in the golden light. 

And the heart of the islander leaps at the sight. 

There he taught the people fisher-lore — 
Neptune afloat, Solon ashore. 
Lived he and labored on Manisses fair, 
Where the pond-lily breathes on the balmy air. 

With brawny arm he hauled the net. 
And I see in my hands the mark of it yet; 
One of earth's toilers, strong and free. 
He left me his love of liberty. 

Thrustararorum was his name. 

The brave old fisher from whom I came! 

As I sing it now I seem to hear 
The voice of ocean loud in my ear, 
The rush and roll of the breaker s roar. 
The lofty song of his island shore. 

Thrustararorum was his name. 

The brave old fisher from whom I came! 

And when I tire of the tedious round, 

I put out for the ancient fishing ground; 

I and my ancestor fishing go. 

Where the billows dance and the salt winds blow. 



And the floods and the sky their welcome give. 

And I feel what a joy it is to live^ 

And my soul escapes like a bird at the sound 

Of our rippling bow — 

As into the ocean s arms we bound! 

Thrustararorum was his name, 

The brave old fisher from whom I camel 



CONTENTS 



MYSTERY OF THE U EST 


Polar Night 


. 13 


Leif Erlcksson 




. 13 


Budding of Ygdrasil 




. 14 


Too Soon the Light 




. 16 


Rumors 




. 16 


The Dark Ages . 




. 17 


Columbus at the Convent 




. 18 


Fall of Granada . 




. 20 


The King Summons Columbus 


. 20 


Columbus before Ferdinand and Isabella 


L . 21 


Battle of the Winds 


. 22 


Columbus Met by Little Birds 


. 23 


Ave Regina .... 


. 24 


Natives' Song of Welcome to Columbus. 


. 25 


Landing of Columbus 


• 25 


Earthly Paradise .... 


. 26 


Ere Shadows Fall 


. 26 


The Admiral's Return . 


. 27 


Into the Darkness 


. 29 


Columbus in Prison 


. 29 


Blow Tropic Winds 


. 


. 30 



CHANT FOR THE CHILDREN OF 
MYSTERY. 



COMING OF THE NATIONS 

Freedom Enthroned .... 
A Warning Voice .... 

Song of the Hebrews .... 



41 

43 
44 



CONTENTS 

Song of the Italians 
Song of the Germans 
Song of the Irish . 
Song of the Hungarians 
Dirge of the Finns 
Cry of the Armenians 
Song of the Poles 
Song of the Russians 
Song of the French 
Song of the English 
Song of the Freedmen 
Cry of the Vanquished 
Song of the Victor 
The Giant Mutters in Sleep 
Freedom's Song of Welcome 
Invocation 



45 

46 

47 

48 

49 

50 

51 

51 

53 

53 

55 

56 

57 

58 

60 

62 



To sea-lords, strong of soul, 
Who sought the dreamed-of goal 
Where, ^wrapped in mystery deep, 
Far realms of ivonder sleep; 
To the heroic dead. 
Who for great Freedom bled. 
Or ijjor shipped at her shrine 
And kept the flame divine; 
To all luho in our day. 
Rejoicing, oivn her sivay, 
As purer gloivs the light 
Athivart the lingering night; 
To those ivho faithful stand 
Throughout this seething land. 
From fwrong to guard the state — 
My song I dedicate. 



Mystery of the West 

Read before the Delta Chapter of 
Massachusetts Phi Beta Kappa 



II 



Mystery of the West 

POLAR NIGHT 

Vast looms the night, 

Vast springs the steel-blue dome, star-pierced, from 

rim to rim of horizon; 
Infinite flashes the world-spanning arch, with ma- 

jestical sweep, ice-floored, paved all with 

terror; 
Cold, cold, relentless, eternal. 
Vast sleeps the silence unbroken, 
Save by the far distant shriek of the polar bear's 

victim ; 
Save by titanic convulsion of ice rent asunder — 
Mighty pulsation and throe of the gloom! 

LEIF ERIKSSON 

*' Out of this icy north, 

Dragon-ship, sail forth; 
Flee, flee this world of snow. 
Where the fiery north-lights glow; 
Haste thee, brave keel, away; 

1 seek a fairer day! 

" By the hammer of Thor, I will come again 

In my valiant boat with my sea-scarred men, 

Back in triumph to Brattalihd. 

And here in the midst of the wassail-hall — 

Hero of jarl and maiden and thrall — 

Tales of far-away shores will I tell 

Till your hearts with envy and longing swell. 

" Then shall clash full mead-horns, the fire logs roar, 
And the glare of the flames leap on rafter and floor. 
While the skalds with their sagas my prowess sing. 
And fierce, long cries of the Vikings ring." 

13 



" O Leif, great Erik's son, beware the ocean's 
wrath!" 

" What care I for thy fears of the dread sea-god's 

path? 
I fear not Maelstrom, nay, nor iceberg's crash, 
Nor tempests wild that fuming billows lash. 
Fare forth, O ship, for I would fain be gone; 
The winter dies, behold the breaking dawn ! 
The summer-land I seek, where the wild grape 

scents the air; 
Up sail, for I would found me Norembega fair! " 

BUDDING OF YGDRASIL 

Why do ye stir yourselves, O ancient sea-gods. 

Waking in ire from the sleep of long ages? 

Is it your restlessness, as ye lie dreaming. 

Dreaming of glories past, O mighty Aesir, 

Who from high Asgard ruled the fierce Norsemen? 

Is it your turning provokes the wild tumult. 

Swirling and seething from terrible Maelstrom, 

Hurling destruction and woe on the North Sea, 

Storming defiance athwart the wild Ocean? 

Why do ye stir yourselves, O ancient sea-gods. 

Waking in ire from the sleep of long ages? 

Is it your wrath that would swallow yon frail bark, 

Buffeted, laboring, torn with your fury; 

Is it your wailing that shrieks through the rigging? 

Ah 'tis too late, mighty Jotiins, ye cannot 
Turn back these Light-Bearers fleeing before you; 
Vain, wholly vain, O great Njord, now to summon 
Those ocean vassals that erstwhile did serve thee, 
Lord of the wild seas and ruler of tempests! 
Call to thee Freyja, thy sister, and whither 
Flown are thy Vanir, the Light-elfs that served 
thee? 

14 



Summon bold Aeglr, fierce Jotun of sea-gales, 
Thor with his lightnings affrighting the heavens, 
Serpent of Midgard, and all thy strong allies! 

Silence, O sea-gods, be silent and listen — 
Vain all your storming, vain all your clamor! 
Listen ! I hear, through the ravings of Ocean 
Sounding a ghostly, a mystical murmur — 
Ygdrasil maketh his leaves all to quiver, 
Ygdrasil holy, vast Tree of Existence, 
Standing deep-rooted in Death's dark abysses, 
Deep in the gloom of the kingdom of Hela. 
There in dread silence around the great Ash Tree, 
Quickening his gnarled roots, now and forever, 
With the deep Sacred Well's life-giving waters. 
Sit the three Nomas — grim fates — ever spinning, 
Spinning the Present, the Past and the Future. 

High rears the Ash Tree his proud head undying, 
The races his branches, his boughs are the nations, 
Under his vast spread the whole world is sheltered — 
All the world's life through his mystic leaves rust- 
ling. 

Balder the beautiful, Balder the White God, 
Hurt by the mistletoe, wounded and dying. 
Shed a warm tear of compassion for all men. 
Wept on the roots of the Ash Tree, and forthwith 
Trembled an impulse, a thrilling, a budding! 
Lo, from his vastness a new bough is breaking — 
Silence, ye sea-gods and ofEer your homage ! — 
Erelong this branch, lusty, budding, will blossom, 
Giant in embryo, masterful, valiant,^ 
Growing, outspreading to distant climes, reaching 
Overland, oversea unto a New World. 
Under its shelter shall gather the peoples, 
Hope of all humankind, foe of oppressors, 
Fairest of Ygdrasil's branches, fruit-laden, 
Healing the nations with Light and with Freedom! 

15 



TOO SOON THE LIGHT 

Blow, night winds, blow your kindly, mystic veil 

Athwart the rift made by the Norseman's prow; 

Let Vineland slumber yet awhile in peace, 

Lulled by her guardian ocean's melodies. 

Hide once again this earthly paradise. 

Whose waters flow unvexed, whose limpid streams 

Leap in sweet Freedom's haunts, where fearless 

drink 
All her wild creatures, in her love secure ; 
Whose forest wilds, untouched by the woodman's 

axe. 
In their primeval glory undefiled. 
Murmur their joy unto caressing winds. 
Too soon the light ! The world is moving slow ; 
These shores be for its riper heritage! 

RUMORS 

Rumors of mystic lands sought by the Basque, sought 

by bold seamen from Africa; 
Rumors wild, formless, wraiths of the night-wrack 

of ocean. 
Rumors of land to the westward. 
Rumors from Portugal, rumors from TenerifJe, 

tales of St. Brandan, despair of brave seamen ; 
Isle of Borondon, fair vision elusive, world-famous, 

guarded of tempest and portent, spell-bound, 

prison of giants; 
Rumors weird, flitting, drifting, flitting from Erin, 

drifting to Cambria; 
Tales of barbarous Creeks in whose veins flows 

blood of old Hellas; 
Rumors of wanderers back from far-away lands of 

the fierce Tuscaroras; 
Rumors of Aztlan, region of wonder, vast, vague, 

hid in the mists of the sunset; 
i6 



Rumors from tongue to tongue, tellmg of Madoc 

returned from his cruising, 
Calling for followers new, again to follow his dar- 



ing' 



Ten good ships on the shore, ready for sailing ; ^ 
Prayers to the Saint all said, prayers to St. Cyric: 
" Cyric, the seaman's friend, guide and protect us! 



"Farewell, O Madoc, and a long farewell! 
How canst thou tear thee from thy native land? 
The breeze is up, the sails begin to swell. 
The keels impatient, grate upon the strand. 
Why dost thou leave me here to die alone? 
Canst thou not stay to win thy father's throne? " 

'' Nay, I am weary of this petty strife, 

I long for freedom and the sea's large life ; 

I long to feel the tugging of the sail, 

To wrestle with the fury of the gale ! 

Farewell, O father, naught shall stay my quest, 

I seek new glory in the golden west ! " 

Gazing afar at the sunset over the waters, 
Day by day, year by year gazing, waiting, weepmg; 
Waiting the prince's return with his squadron ; 
Weeping, peering beyond St. David's Head, out on 

the ocean: 
" Why dost thou linger so, Madoc, my hero, return- 

est thou never? " 
Answer the echoes, wafted from stony crags: 

''Never!" 

THE DARK AGES 

Night of the ages lies dark on Europa, like a black 
pall. ^ , 

Dead is the glory of Rome, dead fair Greece, dead 
their civilization. 

Trampled by Christian Visigoth, Vandal, and Hun. 

Low burns the light on the altar; 

2 



The muses have fled for asylum to shade of the 
cloister ; 

Vast with portentous recoil, the tide of the ages is 
ebbing, 

Cloud-swept is the dial of time; the shadow turns 
backward, 

Force rules the nations triumphant! 

Turmoil and struggle unending, for feudal do- 
minion ; 

Fredom o'erpowered, a fugitive seeking a refuge, 

Weight of oppression hath broken the heart of the 
people. 

Crieth the Spirit of Freedom : " Where is the place 
of my rest? " 

COLUMBUS AT THE CONVENT 

" Diego, in those sheltering convent walls 
Perchance a heart of pity may be found 
Our dire distress and hunger to relieve. 
Come, we will speak to yonder man of God. 

" O Holy Father, in compassion feed 
Thy servant and his child who beg for bread 
And rest and lodging in thy sacred walls! 
Foot-sore and weary come we many a league. 
Outcast, wayfarers, and disconsolate. 
All saints defend thy gates forevermore ! " 

" Enter, my children, rest ye here in peace, 
Let food and kindly sleep your strength renew; 
Tomorrow shall ye tell me of your quest." 

"^ Come, Angel Sleep, come. Angel Sleep, 

And kiss mine eyelids to repose; 
Thy gentle watch above me keep. 

Till I forget my woes. 

My weariness and woes. 

i8 



" spread now thy soothing luings abroad. 
Beneath their shadow pain shall cease; 

To all the weary rest accord. 
And wrap the world in peace, ^^ 
The slumbering world in peace'* 

'' The night is past, Diego, let us find 
The venerable Prior, wish him joy 
Upon this dewy morn, and tell our tale: 
For he hath bid us tell him of ourselves. 

" Father, thou askest what and whence I am, 
And whither I go hence : I am a man 
Like to thyself, on meditation bent, 
A seaman and chartographer am I 
Who long have limned the face of earth and sea, 
And, limning, dreamed of lands beyond our ken, 
Vast lands and ponderous, of old create 
To balance these whereon our nations dwell. 
Holding the wheeling earth in equipoise. 
O venerable Prior, I would seek 
Those unknown regions, thither bear^ the Cross 
Before whose holy shrine thou worshipest 
And with new gems enrich the crown of Spain. 
But Spain rejecting me, to France I turn. 
Most Holy Father, Juan de Marchena, 
Thou knowest Isabella; wert not erst 
Confessor to our queen? Do thou, I pray, 
Implore her majesty to espouse my cause. 
So shalt thou bring the blessing of all time. 
And fame upon Maria de Rabina! " 

" My son, thy sojourn here hath wrought a blessing, 
Yea, I do love thee for the high emprise 
Sprung from thy vision, piercing worlds unknown, 
And for the grandeur of thy dauntless soul. 
Abide our guest, thou and Diego tarry 
Here in these cloisters while I speed afar 
19 



Upon m}^ swift-paced mule to Santa Fe, 

Where the king's arms have driven the hated Moor 

To bay, pent in the stronghold of Granada. 

Rest while I plead thy cause before the throne ; 

I shall away before another dawn. 

I know the gracious heart of Isabella, 

Noblest of women, angel of her peopk, 

Protector of religion and of learning; 

She be thy guardian saint of realms unknown. 

I will prepare thy way; abide thou here! " 

FALL OF GRANADA 

''Long live the King, our Sovereign Liege; 

Death J death to Boabdil; 
We strangle the M jor with our tightening Siege; 

Now, Vengeance, drink thy fill! 

The haughty Saracen reels at the blow 

Of the sword of Ferdinand; 
A suppliant he in the dust kneels low, 

Granada s keys in his hand. 

" High on Alhambra the Cross shall wave. 

And the hated Crescent wane; 
Stoop, Lord, Hispania now to save. 

Cure thou her age-long pain. 

The infidel boast availeth naught, 

Te Deums waft our praise; 
A mighty deed our God hath wrought. 

Our banners proud we raise." 

THE KING SUMMONS COLUMBUS 

" Who is this dreamer that, with eyes uplift. 
Haunting the camp with lofty unconcern, 
Disdains our triumph as a thing too small 
For his high contemplation? Let him speak! " 



COLUMBUS BEFORE FERDINAND AND 
ISABELLA 

*' Give me three ships, my Liege, and I will lay 
My westering course on lone Atlantic's waste, 
Adown the curving bosom of the deep, 
Where never keel hath dared to plough before, 
Where lost Atlantis slumbers 'neath the main ; 
Search for Antilla and Cypango's isle, 
Breathing of spice-groves, flashing with gems un- 
told; 
Thy greetings will I bear to India's Lord — 
Throned amid splendors of the Orient, 
Heir to the teeming realms of Kubla Khan 
Aflame with domes and palaces of gold — 
And bring thee wealth and fame from far Cathay! 

" Not mountain billow, no, nor typhoon's rage, 

Nor deadly sun of equatorial zone; 

Not fabled monster, nor abysmal chasm. 

Nor Gorgon's writhing hair shall fright my soul, 

Nor witching syren lure me from my course. 

" Earth's round with four-and-twenty hours is girt 
Whereof to man but eight be still unknown. 
These would I fain explore for thy renown, 
O Sire, and seek that bourne whence to our strand 
Flave drifted curious flotsam, graven wands, 
And giant reeds, and trees unnamed of men; 
Yea, the strange-visaged corse, of alien race, 
Dumb lips beseeching me, to seek his kin. 

" The holy prophets have foretold the ends 
Of all the earth together shall be brought. 
And me to this high mission Heaven hath called. 
All nations to unite, and every tongue. 
Beneath the banner of the world's Redeemer, 
That Mother Church may blessing bring to all. 
Most gracious King, bestow the boon I crave! 
Behold Columbus at thy footstool kneel; 



To explore the vast unknown 1 would be gone. 
For ever westward rove the thoughts of men, 
Since brave Ulysses sought the Happy Isles 
Bej'ond the regions of the setting sun. 
I would be Adrairal of all the seas 
And Viceroy of all lands I find for thee, 
And I would tithe all gains that there be made, 
And, with the golden tribute of those lands. 
Wrest from the Turk the Holy Sepulchre, 
By Moslem dog and Paynim long defiled. 
I cannot stoop to meaner thoughts or things ; 
'Tis worlds I bargain for, not paltry spoils! 
Be thou my judge, I will have nothing less." 

" Courtiers, this sailor is beside himself! " 

" Wilt thou too spurn me, gracious Isabella? 
I know thou lovest all things high and noble, 
Canst thou not see the hand of God in this? " 

"Arise, Christophoro, thou shalt yet rule, 

Viceroy and Admiral of Ocean Seas! 

I do behold the finger of the Lord 

Pointing the way unto the hidden West, 

Shrouded so long in cloud and mystery. 

Thy cause be mine, be mine the joy to give 

Unto the heathen light, to Spain new glory! 

I, from my head, my arms, my breast will strip 

The jewels that adorned me when I came 

Unto my Lord, a bride from fair Castile. 

These will I pledge, before high Heaven, and Spain, 

To help thee bring to pass thy soul's desire — 

Arise in haste and get thee to the sea! " 

BATTLE OF THE WINDS 

" Rally, rally, rally to the rescue; 

Blow, ye winds of heaven, blow your trumpets! 

Storm and ocean-tempest, lead your forces! 

22 



Who is this that dares invade our ocean? 

Who is this that cometh to dethrone us ; 

Wresting from us our long guarded-secret? 

Smite him, Eurus, blast him with thine East Winds! 

Auster, blow thy withering South upon him! 

Zephyrus, from out the western glooming, 

Hasten to defend thy natal fastness; 

Drive him back again into the dawning! 

Boreas, offspring stormy of Aurora, 

Hail thy savage cohorts to the battle. 

Pour thy frosts and cold upon him, North Wind. 

Loose your hurricanes; let whirlwinds thwart him; 

Let him reel and fly before your onset ! 

Hither launch your thunders and your lightnings, 

Peal on peal of terror seaward hurling, 

Till ye daunt the invader's heart of daring. 

On our awful solitudes intruding. 

Rally, rally! Bring your strong protection 

To the Secret of the West, long hidden. 

O )^e wild waves, crush this bold invader; 

Wreck this puny cockle shell, ye tempests. 

Let him sink in fathomless abysses! 

Let his flaunting sails be rent and scattered, 

Let the sporting sea-birds tear and mock them! 

He would harness you, ye mighty sea-winds. 

He would have you bear him where he listeth, 

He would bind and drive you as his vassals. 

Dost thou, Eurus, fill his sails? O recreant! 

W^ilt thou help him find his way to sunset? 

Zephyrus, why art thou yielding to him? 

Eurus, Zephyrus, will ye betray me. 

And reveal the Mystery of the Ages? 

COLUMBUS MET BY LITTLE BIRDS 

Ye merry birds that seek the shore 
Where softly sways your leafy nest, 

A hero's toil will soon be o'er. 
The hero of a mighty quest. 

23 



tn dreams he saw a world unknown — - 
Singj merry birds, your welcome sing — 

Cheer the brave heart whose faith alone 
A new-found world to light shall bring! 

Pause as ye circle round his mast — 
Sing, merry birds, his heart to cheer — 

Sing that his fame will ever last. 

And whisper that the land is near! 

AVE REGINA 

''Ave Reglna " the sailors sang, 

And each man bent the knee; 
" Ora Pro Nobis " tuneful rang, 

As night fell on the sea. 

Then thought they of Andalusian days 

And, lost on the desolate main, 
Their husky voices tried to raise 

The even-song again. 

Then swept their hearts a fierce desire 

The caravel to seize; 
Mutiny set their souls on fire, 

As they prayed upon their knees. 

" To quarters all," the Admiral said, 
" The morrow shall show us land ! " 

Each sullen sailor hung his head. 
Nor dared to raise a hand. 

Stern through his watch the commander strode, 

The brave stars overhead, 
While Santa Maria the billows rode. 

And into the darkness sped. 

Heavy the load on the sad, lone heart, 

As he paced the castle deck; 
How soon would treachery play its part ? — 

" Ha! What is yon glimmering speck? 
24 



" Ho, Don Pedro! See'st a light? 

Rodrigo ! Dost thou see 
How strange it flashes in the night? 

What think ye may it be? " 

Signing themselves with the Holy Cross, 
They cried: "Thou may'st be sure 

To curse our good ship with dire loss 
Some demon-eye doth lure! " 

*' Nay, by the Rood! O'er these chartless waves 

To glory my pennon flies ; 
The Queen of Heaven hears and saves — 

Land, land in the ofl&ng lies! " 

O, nameless savage, thou didst not know, 
When thy torch gleamed out on the night, 

That a highway to Freedom its flame would show. 
And lead the world to its light! 

NATIVES' SONG OF WELCOME TO 
COLUMBUS 

" Lo, from the heavens immortals descending. 
Borne upon clouds, with white wings outspread; 

Flock to the seashore, their pleasure attending. 
Bring the cassava and offer them bread! 

Bow we in homage; the gods are bestowing 
Favors upon us, poor children of earth; 

Man the canoe where the bright waves are flowing. 
Welcome the stranger with singing and mirth!" 

LANDING OF COLUMBUS 

Wave, wave, ye palms of peace, your welcome wave 
To banners of Castile and Aragon, 
Behold Columbus, kneeling, kiss the soil; 
In scarlet robed, in panoply of mail, 

25 



'Mid steel-clad retinue bent low in prayer! 
Thrill, Earth! What blushing maiden e'er hath 

felt 
More rapturous kiss of passionate lover's lips? 
Ye heavens, rejoice! Before what shrine hath 

knelt 
More pious pilgrim, glad his soul to shrive? 



EARTHLY PARADISE 

Here let him bathe his toil in summer seas 
Of joy, where all the air is sweet with breath 
Of flowers innumerous; where all the isles 
Join in the chorus of their happy birds, 
Tuneful amid the branches that bend low 
To kiss the waters of the crystal sea. 
From isle to isle soft may his latine sails 
Float on the balmy airs that breathe of peace — 
Like birds of paradise awing for home. 
Peace, troubled soul, here rest awhile in peace, 
And sate desire with fruits ambrosial! 
Fold here thy pinions ere thou fly again 
To seek that wonderland upon whose bourne 
These islands, nestling, wait to welcome thee! 



ERE SHADOWS FALL 

Ye verdant islands of the sunlit zone, 

Through storm and stress your lover seeks his own. 

Of you he dreamed, for you his tireless quest; 

Smile on him now, ye Islands of the Blest! 

The bitter days will come, they come to all, 

Joy with your lover, ere the shadows fall! 

Ye are the portals of great things to be, 

Still silent sleeps the Ancient Mystery. 

26 



THE ADMIRAL'S RETURN 

Hail, Sea-lord! Homeward turn, 
A thousand beacons burn 

To welcome thee! 
Hispania's monarch waits 
To greet, with open gates. 

Thy victory. 

Ring loud, oh trump of fame. 
To herald far his name 

Through all the land ! 
Man's helm hath found a path, 
Through unknown Ocean's wrath, 

In his strong hand. 

Awed sea-gods, moaning, fled 
As onward, onward led 

His dauntless soul; 
Strange terrors could not stay 
The hero on his way 

To the far goal. 

Should Eurus alway blow, 
How could they homeward go. 

Or e'er return? 
Anon the horrid calm 
Fell with its vague alarm. 

Their sails to spurn. 

How should they ever pass 
The frightful sea-morass 

That closed their way? 
Should here their lone keels ground 
On sunken hills, where drowned 

Atlantis lay? 

And while the fearful quailed, 
Still westward, westward sailed 
His caravel. 

27 



Though floods and tempests roared 
Yet high his spirit soared 
Above their spell. 

A golden bourne he found — 
Sing bards! The story sound 

Through all the world! 
In realms beyond the sea 
Our sovereign majesty 

Proud he unfurled. 

The captive hither borne, 
His triumph to adorn 

New wonder lends. 
A strange light and sublime — 
Day-spring of coming time — 

Its foregleam sends. 

Hope's guidon thou shalt be! 
The hosts of liberty; 

That follow on, 
Shall ever chant thy fame; 
Thou hast a deathless name. 

Unknowing, won! 

Sing, clarion, soar and sing! 
Enthroned beside the King, 

With glory crowned. 
He royal robes doth wear, 
And with his Liege doth share 

Homage profound. 

Strong champion of the Cross, 
Preserve the Church from loss, 

Her shrines defend ! 
Mother, thy blessing give. 
Long may thy great son live. 

Thy sway to extend! 

28 



INTO THE DARKNESS 
Avert thy face, O Heaven! O, Gratitude, 

Where canst thou hide thy blushes and thy tears? 
O Fame, how soon doth change thy fickle mood — 

At dying Glory mocking Envy jeers! 

COLUMBUS IN PRISON 

*' Of what avail, of what avail 
To tell these stones the cruel tale 
Of woes that have my spirit broke, 
Since from youth's vision I awoke? 

" By church and king deserted, here 
I rust in chains, with none to cheer. 
For Spain untraversed seas I tried — 
Their terrors vast, their floods defied. 

*' I thought to bring her wealth and fame, 
And glorify my country's name ; 
I thought all nations to unite 
In homage to the Church's might. 

(Monks, in a near-by monastery, chanting: 
Miserere nostri Domine, miserere nostri:) 

'Twas mine to seek earth's farthest bound. 
Long hidden mysteries to sound ; 
That Science might proud victor be 
O'er ancient phantasms of the sea. 

" But foes have sullied my fair name 
With fell dishonor; open shame 
Hath Bobadilla's venom wrought. 
And me to this foul dungeon brought. 

'' How didst thou, Espinosa, dare 
To forge the fetters that I wear? 
How didst thou, traitor, with delight 
Mock thine unhappy master's plight! 



" I hear the rabble in the street, 
The eager tramp of hurried feet; 
I hear the cry of blood, and fear 
The end is swiftly drawing near. 

{Quia multum repleti sumus despectione : Quia 
multum repleta est anima nostra: Opprobrium 
abundantibus, et despectio superbis.) 

" The cell is dark and damp and cold. 
My life is spent, my years are told ; 
Too well hath Envy done her part. 
Her cruel blow hath pierced my heart! 

** Sore anguish chokes my labored breath, 
Come set me free, O kindly Death ! — 
Ah, 'twas a dream of glory high ; 
Forgive, ye saints, my bitter cry! " 

BLOW TROPIC WINDS 

Blow, blow, ye tropic winds ! Tell all the earth 
Kind Heaven hath crowned him with greater fame 
Than King, or Church, or Indies could bestow! 
His be the glory of the man who holds. 
Unmoved, to his ideal brave and high. 
And will not swerve until the goal be won ! 
Ye coming generations, laud his name! 
For unborn peoples hath he found a home. 
For sacred Freedom an abiding place! 



30 



Chant for the Children of Mystery 



31 



CHANT FOR THE CHILDREN OF 
MYSTERY 



Esqulmo, igloo, kayak and totem — 

Vanguard of humankind fringing earth's mighty 

dome, shadowed with wonder, 
Soaring majestic, inviolate, unto the Pole Star up- 
bearing 
Through the slow, year-long day the goal of man's 

dauntless endeavor; 
Mound-builder, sleeping 'neath mouldering circle 

and serpent and fortress, 
Heedless that over him rolls the vast tide of the 

white man, billowing over his dreaming; 
Sacred bird flyini:!;, ih whither I know not, out of 

the ages unknown and forgotten — 
Cycles when lorded the mastodon, earth-shaker, 

over the jungle, trumpeting terror — ^ 
Serpent insatiate, unriddled emblems, what did ye 

mean to my brother who dreameth? 
Guard ye with honor his rude mausoleum, silent and 

stately ; 
Soon, ah so soon, shall we also be sleeping! 

Mohawk, Mohegan, Algonquin and Iroquois, Semi- 
nole, Cherokee, 

Children of nature, roaming the wilderness, awed 
by the Manitou, and the Great Spirit ; 

ClifE-dweller high in his fastness, entrenched amid 
rock-blazoned bulwarks barbaric with her- 
aldry, folk lore and story; 

Zuni in terrace and ' iva, skilled potter, deft weaver 
of basketry, tiller of maize lands communal ; 

Snake-dancing Hopi, intrepid, imploring, crying for 
rain! rain! through favor of earth-gods on 
harvest — reptile-borne, dark, subterranean 
message ; 

33 



Cruel Apache, fierce Navaho, foemen In ambush 

near lurking — 
Whence came ye hither, whence came ye hither with 

war-dance and calumet, wigwam and 



wampum ? 



Mighty Anahuac, proud Montezuma's dominion 
rising through zone upon zone to ice- 
wrapped Cordillera; 

Toltec and Aztec and Tlascan and famed Seven 
Cities, hoary with mystery, wondrous in le- 
gend, turret and tower far-gleaming, 

Deluged with blood of the dread human sacrifice, 
flowing from altars of terrible Huitzilo- 
potchli ; 

War-god insatiate, ghastly teocallis stored with his 
trophies ; 

Tenochtitlan, fair queen, encircled of waters, em- 
bosomed of grove-bowered Tezcuco, 

Mother of chinampas, floating isles — wind-wafted 
— threaded by causeway; 

Yucatan temple with sculpture weird graven, 
adorned with mosaic; 

Mitla, Uxmal, and Copan, Mayapan and vast 
Palenque : 

Pyramid, obelisk, casa and archway flaming — 'neath 
forests gigantic, age-grown — gorgeous with 
color ; 

Quippu, deft woven Peruvian lore intertwined, 
thick-knotted with sacred tradition; 

Threaded the empire with highway and tunnel and 
osier-bridge gracefully leaping the gorges; 

Myriad on myriad of swarming folk delving, mining 
and tilling the lowland and hillside, feeding 
the llama-flock high on the mountain; 

Fane of the sun-god, the mighty Creator, the great 
Pachacamac, 

Shining where Cuzco salutes the first sunbeam, 

34 



Blazing with tablet and cornice and golden gate 
gleaming afar o'er the realm of the Inca; 

Great Atahualpa, Lord of the Rainbow, high Son 
of the Deity, blinding his captors with treas- 
ure undreamed of, 

Borne over highway and valley ewer and goblet 
and salver, with lily and golden maize 
wrought by the goldsmith 

Piled in his dungeon as high as the reach of the 
pitiful captive — 

Ransom imperial, hurried on shoulders to save their 
loved sovereign; 

Treasure on treasure and gold, gold, gold, till the 
conqueror reels and grows dizzy! 

Whence poured these human waves down through 

the ages? 
Down from the rocky heights, thousand lakes, thou- 
sand isles, forests unending; 
Down from the White Hills where Horicon smiles 

on the edge of the wilderness; 
Flowing, rejoicing in sunlight, where Hudson, 

triumphant with tribute full-laden, glides 

down to the welcoming sea, 
Past proud Palisades lifting pseans of praise to Lib- 
erty's name, blown from vast organ-toned 

bastion and cliff — 
Alleghany and Everglade wafting their odorous 

greeting; 
Flowing where Mount St. Elias and Shasta look 

down from their glories, high throned upon 

glaciers ; 
Surging through caiions, through light-crowned 

Sierras, through ridges of Rockies; 
South from the lakes, flooding prairies adown to the 

gulf, through the vales of the Father of 

Waters ; 

35 



Laving the feet of the thunderer, fiery Popocatapetl, 

Ebbing and flowing by turns amid the white Cordil- 
leras ; 

Scaling the Andes — watched by the eagle and slow- 
circling condor — 

Cotopaxi, Earth-shaker, his feet upon clouds, his 
flames heaven affrighting; 

Swirling and lost where broad Amazon rolls her 
vast floods to the ocean — 

Say, from what morning of time did ye come, oh ye 
Children of Mystery? 

Winds of the North, blowing from ice-floe, from 

lake and from forest; 
Winds of the East and West, breath of Atlantic 

and breath of Pacific, 
Meeting, embracing and wafting your love-kisses 

over the wheat-land and orchard and prairie ; 
Winds of the South, blowing fragrance of orange, 

of jasmine, breathing of Cherokee roses — 
Tell me your mystic lore, whisper the splendid 

secret ! 

Surely ye saw them arriving and living and hunting 

and tilling; 
Saw them from age to age warring and building 

and toiling and dying — 
Tell me! I listen, and softly the sighing winds 

murmur: " 'Tis Hidden!" 

Your farewells whisper, ye giant sequoias! Ye 

dwelt with them, sheltered them thousands 

of summers. 
Whisper ye pines and ye live-oaks that fringe the 

Atlantic, mingle your farewells with dirges 

of ocean 1 

36 



Ye fair fronded palms, cocobolo, mahogany, rose- 
wood, trailing gigantic vines, draping your 
scarlet, entangled and climbing to sun- 
light above the dark tropical forest — 
orchid and butterfly gleaming and 
flashing — murmur a requiem 
solemn and slow for the dead 
of the ages unknown and 
unnumbered ! 



37 



Coming of the Nations 



39 



Coming of the Nations 



FREEDOM ENTHRONED 

Throned on a lofty height that heavenward rose, 

Whence through a thousand leagues of wide domain 

Missouri and great Mississippi flowed, 

And Hudson greeted first the morning light 

That gilds the ramparts of his Palisades 

And turrets of the world's metropolis, 

Proud Freedom sat, midway her continent. 

Upon her right the Rocky Mountains loomed 

From where Alaskan glaciers mourn the sun 

To the white Andes towering in glory, 

As body-guard protecting her, unmoved 

By threat of danger and the westering night. 

Range upon range their monstrous serried ranks. 

Marshaled from frozen north to tropic zone, 

Saluted her along the Pacific shores. 

Uplift supreme of the vast hemisphere. 

Parting the waters unto either ocean. 

Cloven with gorgeous canons, awe-compelling. 

Lifting their granite crests high heaven to uphold. 

Upon her left the Alleghanies sloped 

Athwart the populous East to Atlantic wastes. 

There from New England's hallowed hills, her 

praise 
Wafted sweet incense to her mighty dead. 
Far-rolling vale and sun-lit plain lay flecked 
With somber cloud-drifts where the cities mur- 
mured. 
Midway outstretched, shone waving fields of plenty, 
The teeming myraids of earth to feed. 
And vast maize-legions marched across the land 
To pour their golden splendor at her feet. 

41 



Interminable forests at her back 

Sang ever in her praise their paeans wild, 

The free birds echoing them from tree to tree, 

And wild deer roamed along the rivulets, 

Joyously bounding as the waters did. 

Soft on her ear the voice of her great lakes 

Rose in the anthems of Niagara. 

Before her lay the broad and sunny home 
Of jasmine, and live-oak with moss-plumes wreathed. 
These odorous groves of orange-bloom and gold, 
These sun-warmed fields covered with snowy bolls- 
Arrayed as with a bridal garment fair, — 
Smiled on the amorous waters of the Gulf ; 
While east and west in deep antiphonal. 
Two mighty oceans sang each to its shore, 
The song that celebrated Freedom's name. 

A presence of majestic mien she sat. 
Clothed all with light which issued from her form — 
A form of rare, ethereal tissue wrought — 
Enrobing her in folds of radiance. 
And the unearthly splendor, shining forth, 
Illuminated whereso'er it fell. 
There safe her people dwelt in liberty; 
America was free from every foe. 
And in the luminous tide which from her flowed. 
Men's souls found inspiration to unfold 
To nobler manhood and more fair attaining. 
How bright the sun shone there! All living things 
Had fuller joy beneath great Freedom's gaze. 
For she nor crushed nor marred as one enthroned 
On broken hearts and hopes of conquered peoples, 
But, rather, brooded as a mother-bird 
Nurtures her fledgling young with gentle breast. 
A glowing halo, circling her fair head. 
Shot forth far-searching rays through all the earth, 
Piercing the age-long shadows of despair. 
Her face — ah, what a look of love it bore 
42 



For the downtrodden of every name and clime, 
Lightening with hope her new-found hemisphere. 

And when she heard the cry of the oppressed 
Wafted across her mighty ocean-moats, 
Her breast heaved, her nostrils gasped for breath, 
'A fierce light blazed in her dilating eyes. 
Born of heroic struggles of the past — 
Thermopylae and Marathon, strong Rome 
By Maccabeans defied, the Saracen 
Crushed by the Hammer on the field of Tours; 
Sempach and Leyden, Naseby, Bannockburn; 
The throes of France uprisen, and Bunker Hill — 
Her hand, unconscious, sought her eager sword, 
While visions of world-wide empire rose and 

beckoned. 
Bidding her show her might in distant lands 
Which by th' Eternal's mandate she should guard. 

A WARNING VOICE 

And then from heaven there spoke a Voice divine : 
" Behold, O Freedom, how the nations come 
To thee for consolation and enlargement; 
Room do they crave within thy borders wide. 
Be thou their guardian angel ; thee I chose 
To hearten these my children, to defend 
And lead them with thy light. Put up thy sword ; 
Too feeble for this fight thine ancient arms! 
Behold, earth's multitudes are flocking hither; 
For these must thou a mightier weapon wield. 
Their foes are powers of darkness, give them light! 
I charge thee, Freedom, give them light for growth 
Of godlike germs, implanted by my hand 
In every soul of man. Let the past die ! 
If thou do lust for conquest, thou shalt die — 
In that polluted air thou may'st not breathe, 
'Tis dank with blood of earth's unnumbered slain; 
43 



Murky with pillage, rapine and despair — 

Let the past die, tear-stained and drenched with 

blood! 
In this fair realm all races meet, do thou 
Kindle new light with thy clear shining, lead 
To loftier heights than man hath elsewhere scaled 
Lead on, O Freedom, to the heights of God! 

The people look to thee with longing. Hark! 
Dost thou not hear the burden of their song 
Rising from smoke-plumed city and verdant plain, 
Like to the voice of many waters, chorals 
Sounding in divers tongues of alien tone, 
Blending in unison magnificent?" 



While, with rapt longing, gracious Freedom bent. 
Eager with love, to catch the swelling tones — 
Wave upon wave of wind-blown melody — 
Lo, from the innumerous voices intertwined, 
There rose the plaint of immemorial pain! 



SONG OF THE HEBREWS 

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 

For thee my spirit sighs; 
Accursed is earth's fair diadem. 

In dust thy glory lies. 

Bereft of country and of home. 
Thy children sad and weak. 

From land to land in exile roam. 
For rest and safety seek. 

We heard the calling of the West 

Across the troubled sea. 
And, wounded sore, for peace and rest, 

O Freedom, fled to thee. 

44 



Lo, Israel seeks thy promised land. 

Led hither of the Lord; 
Give welcome to our weary band. 

Protect us from the sword! 

Jerusalem, thy children lone 
A refuge strong have found; 

Again Jehovah's guidance own, 
Again I^is praises sound! 

Perchance the Lord will bless us here. 
Who grief so long have known; 

Till He in Zion shall appear 
And claim us for His own. 

And then a strain of blither mood was heard, 
Breathed from the land of Dante and of Petrarch 



SONG OF THE ITALIANS 

Goddess, all hail to thee. 
Goddess, all hail to thee. 

Dream of the ages. 

Poets and sages; 
Over the tossing wave. 
Eager and strong and brave. 

We have hither sped to meet thee. 

Joyous, we greet thee! 

Freedom, we prayed for thee. 
Freedom, we prayed for thee: 

" Hear, Queen of Heaven, hear, 

Bow down thy gracious ear '* — 
Lo, Garibaldi came ; 
Taught us thy deathless name; 

Nozu the olive groves are ringing, 

Thy praises singing. 

45 



Freedom, we dreamt of thee. 
Freedom, ive dreamt of thee. 

Where fiery jEtna glows. 

Where the sweet orange blows; 
Far froTii those azure skies. 
Where summer never dies. 

Hither hope hath led our dreaming. 

Lit by thy gleaming. 

Goddess, all hail to thee. 
Goddess, all hail to thee. 

Heiress of ages past. 

Thy fame forever last! 
Farewell, Eternal Rome, 
Hail to our new-found home; 

Unto thee we new allegiance give; 

Live, Freedom, ever live! 

Listen! a chord full-toned and organ-voiced, 
Borne from the land of Schiller and of Goethe, 
Sounded from hearts to home and freedom true : 



SONG OF THE GERMANS 

On Rhenish banks we heard thy name. 
And drifting echoes of thy glory; 

To us the joyful tidings came. 

Where Lurley sings 'mid ruins hoary - 

Rumors of plenty and of peace. 

Where arms and warfare have surcease. 

Along the Elbe the message ran. 

Of thee the Weser too kept telling 
Tidings of larger hope for man. 

The joy unto the North Sea swelling. 
Till Freedom's invitation grand 
Went thrilling through the Fatherland. 
46 



" Ye who the hosts of Rome defied; 

Ye offspring of the mighty Herman, 
Come cast your lot on Freedom's side. 
Mans destiny come help determine; 
Your long heroic struggles past. 
Here find ye rest and peace at last! 

" Long have ye scanty pittance had 

From Mother Earth, with all your moiling; 
The life is hard, the home is sad 

With wife and children ever toiling; 
And manhood's bloom is given to war. 
Until the nation's heart is sore." 

Hail, Freedom, we have heard thy voice. 
And hither come to thee with singing; 
In thy glad light we would rejoice. 

Our lives to thee as tribute bringing — 
And may thy light forever stand, 
A beacon to the Fatherland! 

Anon a voice of pathos and of cheer 
Sounded athwart the multitudinous song: 

SONG OF THE IRISH 

Erin, I love thee, my heart is a-breaking. 

Far from Killarney my footsteps do stray; 
In thy fair island the morn is awaking. 
While toward the sunset I wander away. 
From thee I'm severed, 
From thee I'm severed. 
My kindred are waiting my call to obey. 

Freedom, I love thee, thy smile brought me hither. 

In that dear home-land they long for thee too; 
Lacking thy sunlight the shamrock doth wither. 
Though their tears water its leaves as the dew; 
There they are waiting. 
There they are waiting. 
Light with thy shining their warm hearts and true. 
47 



Land of O'Connell, how long is thy grieving 

Over the vision that westward hath fled; 
There Tara's children the future are weaving, 
Kildare is sleeping, but freedom's not dead! 
Erin is waiting, 
Erin is waiting. 
Follow, loved Erin, where Freedom hath led! 

Freedom, I love thee, thy children here flocking 

Have not forgotten the harp on the green; 
Be thou their guardian, their hopes never mocking. 
Thy reign the fairest the world e'er hath seen; 
Kathleen is luaiting, 
Kathleen is waiting. 
Soon shall I send for my darling Kathleen/ 

From the Carpathian hills a longing voice 
Breathed of the borderland of Orient: 

SONG OF THE HUNGARIANS 

We dwelt on Danube's mighty stream — 

Roll on, romantic river! 
Upon thy banks the ages dream. 

Fair knights their lances shiver. 

With paladin and pomp of pride 
There swept the old Crusader; 

There Hunyady the Turk defied 
And crushed the accursed invader. 

There stormed fierce Attila the Hun, 

Europa's devastator. 
And there, O Freedom, rose thy son, 

Kossuth the Liberator. 

Petofi sang thy paeans high. 

And set our heartstrings throbbing; 

Then for thy sake he dared to die. 
And left thy children sobbing. 

48 



Of him zve learned thy glorious name. 

Where gleams the Danube rivera- 
in every land art thou the same — 
Of life the generous giver. 

Uplift our lot and set us free. 

Oppressed with tribulation; 
Oh, may we Magyars find in thee 

Our dream's full consummation I 

And thereupon a cry as of a soul 

In torment, g^rieving hopeless in its pain 



DIRGE OF THE FINNS 

/ hear the north blast wailing, 

I see the night-wrack trailing 
Its pall upon the sea; 

My broken heart is crying 

For Finland crushed and dying. 
Dying in pain for me. 

None, none may dare befriend her. 

None, none may dare defend her; 
The Great White Czar hath answered with a frown. 
And torn Suomi's sacred banner down. 

He promised to befriend her. 
He promised to defend her. 

If she to him were true; 
Then seized her precious dower 
With his resistless power — 

For mercy vain to sue! 
" Vengeance " the storm-cloud mutters. 
The distant thunder utters 
Warnings of tempests wild, whose lightnings dread 
Shall wreak their fury on the tyrant's head, 

49 



" Suomi is a-dyingf 

I hear the sad runes crying 
Along the North Sea shore. 

Freedojn, art vigil keeping? 

To thee we come with weeping. 
Thy comfort to implore. 

O Time, art thou retreating. 

Our ancient hopes defeating? — 
The lights of Helsingfors are quenched in gloom^ 
As Kalevalas children meet their doom. 

Then rose a sob of immemorial woe: 



CRY OF THE ARMENIANS 

We heard thy voice across the deep 
Where lone Armenia s children weep; 
A voice of hope that bid us come 
From tears of age-long martyrdom. 

The voice of Gregory is hushed. 
Our shrines are spoiled, our altars crushed, 
At noontide blood; at night despair. 
With Terror lurking everywhere. 

Ah, long the Moslem's heel hath trod 
To earth the ancient church of God; 
Long, long her bitter, piercing cry 
Hath risen to the unpitying sky. 

The Muscovite our pleeding spurns. 
And from our woe in anger turns; 
Katholikos is put to shame 
For fealty to thy sacred name. 

Our ancient generations prayed 
For thee, by sword and fire dismayed; 
How canst thou. Freedom, bear to see 
Such long-enduring misery! 

50 



Europas heart of stone is cold. 

Askance she views our sorrows old; 

Her voice that might have cheered is dumb - 

Sweet Freedom, to thy home we come. 

Sounded an echo of the age-long struggle 
'Gainst oppression on the Vistula — 
Brave eagle's nest, by paw and talon torn : 

SONG OF THE POLES 

Freedom, from our birthright driven. 

Seek we thy fair bourne; 
Tyrants' steel our hearts hath riven, 
Poland's woes we mourn. 
Kochanowskie sing 
Dirges for our brave — 
Polska, wake from sleep! 
Freedom, vigil keep! 

Kosciusko, dost thou see us 

On this foreign strandf 
Thou didst give thyself to free us — 
Fettered still thy land. 
Polaska, fare thee well; 
Who our pain may know! 
Freedom, hear our cry; 
To thine arms we fly! 

From the far home of Pushkin and of Tolstoy 
Sorrowed a minor chord of disappointment — 
A voice of anguish fleeing from the storm : 

SONG OF THE RUSSIANS 

O'er the wide Ural steppes 

Fierce cries the tempest. 

Fierce the burans wrath fro?n Neva to Don; 

5' 



Terror hath driven us 
Unto thy keeping; 
Famine hath stricken and 
Hurried us on. 

FreedorUj we learned thy name — 

Hope rose exulting — 

When Alexander unfettered the serf ; 

New life he brought to light. 

Dawn cheered our weeping: 

Man should no longer be 

Kin to the turf! 

Ivan the terrible, 

Art thou awakening! 

Know'st thou, great Peter, how troubled thy realm? 

Whither doth drive the storm, 

O sacred ikons. 

Drifting to darkness. 

Broken the helmf 

Tyranny, brought to bay. 

Humbled and crying 

Unto the people, for mercy shall kneel; 

Seething, the tumult vast 

Shakes Holy Russia — 

Mighty her travail throes 

With commonweal! 

Freedom, all glorious. 

Lead thou the nations ; 

Long tnay thy beacon shine far in the night! 

Unto thy stronghold we 

Hasten for refuge; 

Do thou our little ones 

Guard by thy might. 

Hark! 'mid the various choirs those tuneful voices, 
Chanting the brotherhood of liberty: 



SONG OF THE FRENCH 

From Lafayette we learned thy story; 

For thee he tore himself from France; 
Thou, Freedom, crownedst him with glory. 

Forever may thy cause advance. 

Forever may thy cause advance; 
Oppression s victims here befriending. 

We'll stand together, heart and hand. 

At one throughout this mighty land. 
Our glorious heritage defending! 

Beware, freemen, beware. 

Forever vigil keep! 
Watch zuell, watch well your heritage; 

Lest foes in ambush creep! 

And borne upon the tide of symphony, 
Wind-wafted, broken snatches smote the ear — 
Voices of stalwart island yeomanry: 



SONG OF THE ENGLISH 

Mother of Liberty, 
Flow oft in vain to thee 

The helpless cry; 
Thou who on Runnymede 
Didst sow the sacred seed. 
Ages unborn to feed. 

Shall freedom 



Thou of the sea-girt throne. 
Should St thou thy past disown. 

Thy gold for dross; 
Shouldst thou their cry ignore 
Who freedom's light implore. 
On many a distant shore. 

How vast the loss! 

53 



Mother of Liberty, 

Here thy proud offspring see 

In might enthroned! 
Freedom, forever young, 
Here be thy praises sung 
In our loved mother-tongue ; 

Close kinship owned! 

We seek more generous soil 
Whereon to spend our toil. 

For richer wage; 
Under thy new-forged shield 
Crave we a wider field. 
Precedent there shall yield — 

Youth supplant age. 

Vainly thy banner flies 
Beneath unnumbered skies. 

Sway to extend. 
While in thine island fair 
Gaunt want and pale despair 
Thy troubled children bear 



Vain, vain the wealth of mines 
That in thy Transvaal shines. 
With freedom crushed; 



Through India's vast domain 
How seek'st thou sordid gain. 

Where Famine rules; 
Where ghastly Pestilence 
His cohorts doth intrench. 
Lest light should drive him hence, 



54 



Mother of Liberty, 
Dost thou not joy to see 

Thy daughter's might! 
Together may ye bear. 
Thou and thine offspring fair — 
Hushing wars impious blare — 

World-conquering light! 



Borne on the south wind's balm, soft-toned, there 

flowed 
A song of sorrows vast, a prayer of hope, 
Melodiously sung by voices low: 



SONG OF THE FREEDMEN 

From Ethiopian shores of night. 

In terror bound, our fathers came; 

For them no glimmer of thy light. 
For them but mockery thy name. 

Patient they bore the grievous goad, 
The cane-brake and the hopeless field; 

Their manhood crushed beneath the load — 
No refuge found they in thy shield. 

Then, moved with pity, thou didst break 
Their bonds, and bid their manhood rise; 

Thy coming fierce the earth did shake. 
Thy lightnings pierced the flaming skies. 

For thee they fought, for thee they bled. 
The anguish of the past forgave — 

By thy glad light may we be led, 
O gracious Freedom, strong to save! 

55 



Floating above Manchuria's ghastly strife — 

Where in re-birth throes fierce to the light 

Kindled at Freedom's fane, Asia is locked 

In mortal combat with the Occident's 

Proud Autocrat and Enemy of Day — 

Rises a sound of triumph and a cry 

Of consternation, wrung from dire disaster, 

While to the home of Freedom in the West 

Embassies twain approach. One had put ofE 

Splendor of priceless Oriental robes 

Of state emblazoned with the Rising Sun, 

And one imperial pomp of heraldry 

Gorgeous with emblems of the Autocrat. 

Their mission too momentous far, too vast 

For vain display. Clothed in simplicity, 

On burdened shoulders do the leaders bear 

The fate of empires, breathless from the strife. 

Peace and war in the balance hang. The world, 

Aghast at the earth-shaking conflict stands, 

And wearied with the carnage prays surcease, 

Surcease from reign of horror and of blood — 

Peace begs these titans to be reconciled. 

Crying: All men are brothers! cease, oh, cease! 

The heavens applaud as Roosevelt leads the way 
From war's dark Hell, sheathing a million swords. 
And the great Mikado, ever laurel-crowned — 
Port Arthur's terror, Liaoyang, vast Mukden, 
World-sea-fight of Japan incomparable — 
Challenging Christendom with his high act. 
Led by the spirit of the Galilean, 
Yields to his vanquished foe, for love of humankind. 

CRY OF THE VANQUISHED 

We fought for glory of the Tzar^ 
To speed his rule divine afar 
Till Asias vastnesSj whence we came 
In ancient days, should own his name; 

S6 



The realms of Orient homage pay. 
Lord of the myriads of Cathay — 
Till Holy Church assume her dower , 
Enrobed in universal power, 

O Sacred Russia, can it be 
That thou in shame must bend the knee. 
Thy broken sword must idly rust. 
Thine armies moulder in the dust I 

Crushed in the grasp of ruthless fate. 
In blank despair we breathless wait; 
Our land is red with fire and blood. 
Our sorrows whelm us like a flood. 

The heavens are black, the earth is rent. 
In vain our prayers to heaven are sent; 
The shadow of impending doom 
Has wrapped the empire's throne in gloom. 

The waking manhood of the realm 
Is grasping for the broken helm; 
The people's wrath brooks no delay. 
The Autocrat is brought to bay. 

Freedom, thy name is in the air, 
'Tis " freedom, freedom " everywhere; 
Be thou our friend in this dark hour. 
Show us the secret of thy power. 

In our distress we turn to thee — 
Let mercy temper victory; 
Ask that the foe our honor spare! 
With thee new glory may we share! 



57 



SONG OF THE VICTOR. 

Hail J Freedom! from the prison-house of Night 
Our fathers didst thou lead, and give them light. 
Didst send thy son, brave Perry, to our shore, ' 
With thy strong key to open wide the door. 
Hail to thy starry firmament, thy hues of morn. 
That glowed anew, the while our Rising Sun was 
born! 

As grows the light on Fujiyama's head^ 
So through the Orient the day shall spread; 
As smiles fair Nippon, wreathed in cherry bloom. 
So shall the weary Past forget its gloom. 
The Lotus unto thee her fragrant greeting sends: 
Long may Columbia and the Sunrise Land be 
friends! 

The Son of Heaven, whose virtue lights the world. 
Hath unto death his mighty foeman hurledy 
Whose navies rust, deep in the yawning main. 
Whose bones corrupt Manchwia's reeking plain, 

Who would our light extinguish and our freedom 
blight. 

And push us back into the jaws of Night. 

The orphan weeps, the widow kneels in pain, 
Dai Nippon mourns her martyr-heroes slain; 
For thine ideals went they forth to die. 
In long procession to the wondering sky. 

Where with our ancient dead henceforth in joy they 
live — 

And let Earth too her meed of praise and glory give. 

Hail, Freedom! from the field of victory 

We come to taste thy hospitality; 

To meet, *neath thy just gaze our vanquished foe. 

That Peace may calm the pangs of Wars vast woe. 
Thou wast of old a generous conqueror, and we 
Would emulate thy lofty magnaminity, 

58 



THE GIANT MUTTERS IN SLEEP 

When the newcomers' cadences had ceased — 

Pasan with dirge upon the air commingling — 

All save Freedom started at a voice, 

A voice, portentous, inarticulate, 

Muttering in sleep, as 'twere a giant stirred — 

Formless and vast, extended league on league. 

Dim on the horizon of the Orient — 

Disturbed from slumbers immemorial 

Since the long story of mankind began, 

Seeming to murmur low: If I should wake — 

Strange sounds methinks I hear, unknown of old 

To gods or men — If I should wake and claim 

The hand of common, human brotherhood. 

The which they seem to sing — I, eldest brother — 

Old ere yon weaklings, demon-bred, were 

spawned — 
If I should wake, would Freedom welcome me? 
Or must I bid my countless myraids rise — 
Turn back the wheels of trade upon their heads — 
Shake off the hungry parasites that feed 
Upon the Middle Kingdom — drench the world 
With blood, to show my might — I, eldest brother — 
Master — heir of untold generations — 
Unchain the typhoon, Asia's fury loose — 
Ere these proud upstarts deign to own me man? 
Beware! I dream! — Wake not the Dragon's 

ire — 
If I should wake from sleep — If I should wake — 



59 



FREEDOM'S SONG OF WELCOME 

Then Freedom rose, majestic, standing forth, 
Her face irradiate, her welcoming arms 
Outstretched in yearning to the multitudes 
Fast gathering at her feet from alien shores. 
Anon she raised her voice in song, while all 
Gave ear unto her. Men forgot old wrongs 
And woes, and from afar long hopeless eyes 
Kindled with a new light; war's dreadful scourge 
And cry were hushed to silence by the charm — 
Stilled by her soothing tones of tenderness: 

Come hither, children, come, 
Welcome, Oh, welcome home 

To dwell with me. 
Behind you leave your fears, 
Your bondage and your tears, 
Come and be free ! 
Behold the feast my hands for you have laid 
In this fair home which Freedom's might hath 
made! 

Here lave your wounds with peace, 
May feud and envy cease. 
Your souls grow strong, 
Forgot each petty clan ; 
My labors are for man. 
My travails long. 
Come, I will show you where sweet waters flow 
And fruits that only in my gardens grow. 

The troubled night is past, 
The dawning breaks at last, 

Behold and sing. 
Forget the ancient wrong. 
Swell the exultant song. 
Manhood is king! 
See where my teeming plains with harvests gleam ; 
See from each cloud-capped range my glory 
stream ! 

60 



For me the Fathers wrought, 
With foe and famine fought, 

The seed to plant; 
Now, by their labors blest, 
The exiled and oppressed 
Their praises chant. 
Take heed that ye, departing, leave behind 
As noble fruitage as ye joy to find. 

With lust of greed and power 
Have done! a fairer dower 

Is mine. I faint 
In that foul atmosphere. 
My native breezes clear 
Are free from taint. 
Beware lest )'^e my warnings cast away. 
And in my wrath I leave you in a day. 

No more my torch ye see, 
Myself your light will be. 

The land to illume. 
I live by light alone — 
Bane of Oppression's throne, 
The tyrant's doom. 
Here from each prisoned human soul divine 
I strike the fetters. Rise, with me to shine! 



6i 



INVOCATION 

O Thou Eternal Source of Light, 

Who madest man to dwell with Thee, 

Protect Thy children by thy might, 
Who from afar have fled to me. 

Led hither by Thy generous hand. 
The troubled past they leave behind; 

New hope, new life in this fair land, 
Almighty Parent, may they find. 

Thou who didst call Creation good. 

When Heaven acclaimed the birth of Time, 

Here crown Thy works with Brotherhood, 
Here loose the bonds of every clime. 

Dispel the shadows of the night 

That long have bound the sons of time; 
In Thy glad light may we see light ; 

Show us our destiny sublime! 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRFQq 

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